Sounds Awesome
by Badger the Gnome
Summary: A few years after defeating the Brotherhood of Evil, Beast Boy runs into an unexpected former ally - and in helping her, discovers that much has changed. Beast Boy/Jinx, with mentions of many other pairings.


"Sounds Awesome"

by Badger the Gnome (previously known as Lady Comet)

Fandom - Teen Titans

Notes - Another attempt to write a good Beast Boy/Jinx story. My prior attempt, "Resolution," was more Terra/Raven in origin...which is good, but I needed to write a story for BBnJ too. So here's this. Also contains mentions of Raven/Terra, and Cyborg/Jinx and Cyborg/Sarasim, and Robin/Starfire.

This was, by the way, a Valentine's gift for my llovely llady. She liked it, and I hope you do too :)

* * *

Garfield Logan, more commonly known as Beast Boy, stepped out onto the busy street, pulled up the hood of his jacket and stretched his sore limbs. He had been at the arcade for hours. Titans Tower had the latest gaming consoles with hundreds of games to choose from, but every now and then it was good to get out and prove his mastery against others. Besides, whenever Robin allowed anybody time off, it was an occasion for escape.

He grinned, turned to the right and headed down the sidewalk toward the local pizza joint. Equally important was indulging in the team's favorite food, without having to worry about what everyone _else_ wanted on their slice for a change.

As he wove through the crowd toward the restaurant, he passed a small jewelry store, but didn't take much notice. No sooner had he left it behind than a loud crash erupted through the air. He whirled around amongst the crowd to see what had happened. Magenta light flashed out of the open doorway, quickly followed by a fleeing woman with familiar pale pink hair.

Beast Boy growled and caught Jinx by the arm as she sped past, her dark clothes trailing behind her. She came to a sudden stop and staggered, then turned to glare at him.

"What do you think you're doing?!" they shouted at each other in unison.

She brushed him off and stepped back, arms crossed over her chest. "Nothing! What's it to you, anyway?"

He glanced over at the front of the shop, where the crowd had already gathered. He could already hear sirens in the distance.

"You stole something, didn't you?"

She smirked deviously and shrugged. "Maybe."

"I thought you were different now," he frowned.

Jinx opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it and looked down as if the sidewalk had become fascinating.

He knew he should turn her in. That's what anyone else, even Cyborg, would have done. But against his better judgment, he found himself putting his arm around her and steering her quickly away from the oncoming law enforcement. She looked back up at him, surprised, and quirked an eyebrow.

"Come on," he sighed. "We should talk."

* * *

They slid into the pizza shop quietly as the rabble faded behind them, indicating that the crowd had been broken up. Beast Boy put down his hood, resulting in almost immediate squee's of hero-worship as some of the customers recognized him. They rushed up and greeted them both as the superheroes they usually were, unaware of what had just happened.

Jinx rolled her eyes as he made a show of fending them off. "I'm going to get a table," she mumbled, stepping away.

He grabbed her arm again. "Oh no you don't. You're just gonna run off."

She smiled. "Most likely, but there's a teeny chance I won't. Anything's possible."

He stared blankly at her. "Right. You'd better stick with me."

He ignored her pouting as they stepped up to the counter, despite how cute it suddenly made her look, and how attractive it made him realize she was. It has been a few years since any of the Titans saw her, and she had grown up a lot. He wondered, then, where Kid Flash was, and if that had anything to do with the theft.

"Here," he said awkwardly, taking off his jacket and pushing those thoughts away. "You'll probably need this."

She nodded, understanding, and took it without thanking him. The hood didn't hide how pointy her hair was, but no one would question her if she was with him, even if they heard about her leaving the jewelry store.

Finally they sat down and dug into the pizza – eight slices with extra veggies. Jinx helped herself, but Beast Boy didn't object; he had ordered extra on purpose, assuming that he'd get to eat all of it if she wasn't hungry - so either way he'd win. After he finished his first piece he looked over at her, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"So what really happened back there, Jinx?"

Sighing, she set her half-eaten slice back down on her plate. "What do you think happened?"

"Well, it looks a lot like you ripped something off and fled the scene."

In response, she reached into a pocket of her pants and pulled something out, closing her fist around it so he couldn't see. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, she loosened her grip to show him a glimpse of the gem hidden there – a very large, well-cut ruby.

"Jinx, what the hell?" he demanded, forcing himself not to shout. "I thought you were supposed to be one of us now!"

She frowned and put the gem away, moving fast to keep him from taking it. "Yeah, well, I thought so too."

"What does that mean?"

"Flash cheated on me, okay?!" she snapped. "After everything he said I was to him, after all the 'turning a new leaf' he got me to do, he betrayed me and acted like I wouldn't find out. Then when I called him on it, he acted like he owed me nothing, and wanted to go on as we had been all along. So I left, and I guess old habits die hard. Happy now?"

He sat back, dazed, as she slumped in her seat with her arms crossed angrily over her chest.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

She just shrugged at him.

"…You know, you could have come to us for help. You're an Honorary Titan now."

"That was all based on _him_," she hissed back. "As if anyone would accept me without his support. I have nothing now, and these shinies sell for a lot of money. How else was I going to get by?"

"You could have gone back to the HIVE, or another villains group. But you didn't, did you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, did you?"

"No, of course not!"

He grinned. "Aha, see? Why 'of course not?'?"

"Because I'm not that person anymore!" she shouted, flustered and furious. Her face dropped and she stared at him, wide-eyed, clearly shocked at herself.

They sat there in silence for a moment, Jinx staring at the floor and Beast Boy staring at the pizza. Finally, the pink-haired witch reached back into her pocket, took out the ruby, placed it gently on the table and slid it toward him.

"Take it back," she whispered.

He closed his hand around it carefully, sliding it back and putting it in his own pocket. "You sure?" he asked.

She nodded.

"What are you going to do without it?"

She shrugged.

"I really meant what I said before," he whispered. "We can help you. Tons of our allies – and friends – have crashed at the Tower for a few days when they needed help getting back on their feet."

"Oh sure," she said, rolling her eyes. "That would be loads of fun."

"It is," he grinned back. "I am a party animal."

Jinx chuckled and sat up, quickly turning her delight back into a mask of annoyance. "Don't you think Raven, at least, would be less than pleased with that arrangement?"

His grin faded and he looked away awkwardly. "Well, Raven's working with Titans East now. Terra too. They both took off a few months ago."

Jinx smiled sadly at him, and felt herself reaching across the table to put a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. You two were close, right?"

He looked up at her, then down at her hand and back at her face again, obvious surprise on his own features. She blushed and pulled her hand back, crossing her arms over her chest again as she slumped back into the seat.

"Anyway," Beast Boy sighed, picking up another slice of pizza, "the invitation is open. You don't have to come right now, but….just let us know if you need help, okay?"

She was silent for a moment, then nodded her head. "Okay."

They finished their food in silence, and when they were done, Jinx got up and left without a word. Beast Boy watched her as she crossed the restaurant floor and stopped at the doorway to look back at him.

"Thanks," she smirked, and was gone.

He put his hand in his pocket, closing it around the gem she had stolen and wondering what was going to happen next.

* * *

The jeweler had been more than understanding when Beast Boy returned the gem and asked him not to press charges on Jinx – especially since he told him the repairs to the store would be taken care of. Luckily they were minor; he'd figure out how to get the money from Robin later. After that, he went straight home, tired and confused in many ways.

The next few days passed as usual. He spent his time battling Cyborg on their own gaming systems, watching TV, and bothering Robin in between hero work. They had to deal with a few petty crimes and the usual costumed villains, but there was no sign of Jinx. He was relieved, but still curious about her – what she was doing, and if she would ever take him up on his offer. He hadn't mentioned it to the rest of the Team yet; for some reason, he felt it would be best to deal with that when the time came.

It turned out that time came faster than he expected.

A few days after the robbery the team returned from another battle with Dr. Light, who had been more active since Raven's departure. As they approached the Tower, they saw a familiar person sitting on their doorstep, propped against her own small suitcase. She looked up as they got close to her and stood, trying to pull a sense of pride around her despite her desperation.

"Friend Jinx!" Starfire squealed, rushing forward. "It is good to see you!"

Jinx smiled awkwardly and nodded, sidestepping the redhead's crushing embrace. "Yeah, hi."

Cyborg returned her awkward smile. "Hey there."

Robin stuck out his hand to her, and she clumsily shook it, still not used to _him_ at all. "It's been a while, hasn't it? What brings you to town?"

She looked right at Beast Boy. He grinned and gave her his best 'please-don't-say-anything' look.

"Well," she said finally, "I'm on my own again and I need a place to crash for a while. Do you mind?"

"Not at all!" Cyborg beamed, clapping a massive hand on her shoulder. She winced from the impact, but smirked up at him. Beast Boy found himself frowning at them, but didn't know why – after all, they had been together once, when Cyborg infiltrated the HIVE as Stone. Why should that bother him?

"Its no problem," Robin said, taking control of the situation again. "Come on up, we'll get you settled in Raven's old room."

"Oh?" Jinx replied, playing dumb as they all stepped inside and headed upstairs. Cyborg had taken her bag, but she pretended not to notice. "Why isn't _she_ around anymore?"

Starfire looped arms with her and smiled sadly. "Raven and Terra became very close after Terra redeemed herself and returned to us," she explained. "They thought it would be best to leave the team for a time, though we don't know why. We miss them very much."

Cyborg glanced over at Beast Boy and they shared a knowing look.

"Ah," Jinx said, smirking again. "I didn't realize either of them swung that way." She tried to catch Beast Boy's eye then, but saw him blush at her comment and look away instead. She had expected him to respond better to the jibe, even though he had been with Terra before. There must have been more to it than what Starfire implied. She made note to find out.

When they finally got up to the top floor, Cyborg took it upon himself to show Jinx to her room, where the fridge was, and other inane things that she probably already knew from the last time she was there. Starfire kidnapped Robin away from the computer for some 'alone time,' leaving Beast Boy to ponder his thoughts. He sat down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table, but didn't turn the television on. Instead he stared out at the ocean and the sky above, wondering how his old friends were doing. He had been trying not to think about them – knowing what he knew, even though they didn't talk about it, was too painful. He knew they couldn't help what had happened, but that didn't mean it hadn't hurt him to see it.

Suddenly he felt someone knock him on the head, and he looked up to see Jinx standing there.

"Hey," she smiled. "You still with us?"

"Yeah." Trying to ignore how her chest looked from that angle, he sat up and turned around to face her. "All settled in?"

"Uh huh." She leaned onto the couch, half-sitting behind him on the back of it. "Cyborg's finally let me go. He and Robin are arguing about ordering food. Are things always this…interesting here?"

He grinned. "Just wait until Star throws in_ her_ vote. You won't want to eat anything for days."

She laughed, and he realized that he had never heard that before. Usually she let out a maniacal cackle when throwing dangerous magic at him and his friends. But this was different; it was light and airy, almost musical and filled with actual joy. It was nice, and he found himself laughing with her.

After the laughter stopped, she poked him on the forehead and looked at him seriously. "So, what dark demons were you fighting in there? Afraid I was going to blow up your home, or worse – steal something?"

"No," he chuckled. "Just thinking."

"Hmm." She thought for a moment, then took his hand and pulled him off the couch. "Looks like it's your turn to need to talk."

He opened his mouth to object, but decided against it. Jinx quickly led him upstairs to the roof, keeping hold of his hand the whole time. She closed the door behind them and headed over to edge, staring down before she finally sat there, comically patting the space beside her.

"Now come on, what's _really_ on your mind?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Um, how did you know how to get up here?"

She grinned. "We did take over the Tower once, remember? And I had time to explore after you brought all the Honorary Titans here, when we defeated the Brotherhood of Evil."

"Oh yeah," he said, sitting down next to her and letting his legs dangle over the side of the roof. "Seems like that was forever ago."

"Yeah." She looked seriously at him, then, and said, "Now stop dodging – what really happened to Raven and Terra?"

"Exactly what I told you," he replied sadly. "They left, and went to join Titans East. They've been there for about three months."

"But there's more to it, isn't there?"

He turned his gaze away from her, staring at the horizon and collecting his thoughts. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"I'm not a big bad anymore, you know. And you helped me, so I'd like to help you."

"Why?" he asked.

She blushed and looked away. "Let's just say that help is hard to come by, for me at least, so I appreciate it."

He sighed. "All right. Everything I told, you, and what Starfire told you, is true – Terra came back to us, really wanting to be a hero, and we took her in. I tried to start things back up again with her, but she didn't want to, and she wouldn't explain why. I didn't bother her about it after, but I kept watching her. She seemed really intent on getting Raven to forgive her – Raven was always the angriest about what she did to us, even angrier than me."

"Well, she ought to have been," Jinx noted, a hint of pride in her voice. "Stupid Blue Girl couldn't stand anyone tricking her like that, and Terra managed to do to you in months what none of us managed to do to you in years. It was awesome."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Not helping."

"Sorry," she sheepishly grinned. "Go on."

He sighed. "They did make up, and none of us know 'for sure' what happened there – they kept it really secret. But we all had our suspicions; well, except maybe Starfire. Eventually I did more sneaking around, and…let's just say that I got sure they were together."

Jinx bit back a smile, knowing what he must have done, and saw.

"But they never told any of us, and then they randomly decided to join Titans East – I think Bumblebee might have invited them, to replace Speedy since he left to train with the Green Arrow, but she never told us that either. They've called and sent us postcards and letters to keep in touch, but it's not like it was before. We all miss them, and, well…..it really hurt me that they left like that."

"Is that all that hurt you?"

He looked over at her, defensively asking, "What else would have?"

She started counting off reasons on her fingers. "Terra was obviously your first love, and you lost her. Then she suddenly came back into your life, but she didn't want you anymore. Instead, she hooked up with Raven, a friend of yours. And neither of them had the decency to tell you the truth. I'd imagine that hurts more than just missing them."

He frowned and wrapped his arms around himself. "Jeez, I forgot what this is like."

"Like what is like?"

"Having someone around who can call me on my crap."

Jinx smiled, trying not to grin too widely. "Oh? Did Terra do that for you?"

"No," he answered. "Raven did."

"…You were really close to her too, weren't you?"

"I'd say I was getting there, but obviously I was wrong."

Jinx reached over and cupped his green face in her pale hand. "Just because they're both into girls doesn't mean it's your fault, you know."

He smiled, placing his hand over hers. "Thanks. I know."

They sat like that for a moment, staring at each other but not moving. Then Jinx slid a little closer, leaned forward, and planted a kiss on his lips. He expected to be surprised, but found he wasn't, and kissed her back eagerly. After a moment, however, he remembered who she was, what she had been to his best friend, and what she had just been through. He pulled away and slipped his hands out of her hair, disentangling her arms from around his neck.

"What was that for?" he asked, trying not to sound panicked.

She shrugged, but smirked, wiping away the smudge of black at the corner of her mouth. "I thought we both could use a little comfort. And I'd like to see where this goes."

Still not sure what to do, he began to respond, but was stopped short as someone behind them cleared their throat. They both turned and looked up. About twenty feet away stood Cyborg, still half in the stairwell, staring with obvious shock at them.

"Oh shit," Jinx mumbled.

"Uh, dinner's here," the robotic man said flatly, looking away from them. "Wanted to let you know." Then he stepped back inside, closing the door without waiting for them.

Jinx groaned and flopped onto the roof, staring up at the clouds. "Spectacular."

"He might not have seen, right?" Beast Boy hoped. "Maybe we had stopped right before he opened the door."

She looked up at him and chuckled against her better judgment. "My lipstick is all over your mouth."

The green man cursed, scolding himself for not having thought of that, and rubbed the dark make-up away with the back of his hand. "Great. He's going to kill me. Or never let me play Mortal Combat again, which is worse. Or agree to play that with me, but tie me up and make me watch his character kill my poor defenseless one, which is worse than worse! Or do that and put the controller close by but still too far for me to reach and –"

"Oh calm down!" Jinx demanded. "He's a good guy, and we happened _forever_ ago. I'm sure he'll get over it."

Beast Boy frowned at her. "You know what you said about Terra and me?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, you were kinda Cyborg's first love."

"…Oh."

He stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. "Come on," he sighed. "Might as well get this over with."

"What do you think is going to happen?" she asked as they headed back inside and downstairs.

"I don't know. But hopefully neither of us will have to leave."

* * *

Dinner was painful. It didn't seem like Cyborg had told Robin or Starfire about what he'd seen, but that didn't keep him from stealing accusatory glances at both of them throughout the greasy meal. Starfire didn't notice – chattering on at Jinx about the comparability, or lack thereof, between Chinese food and Tamaranian cuisine. But Robin clearly did. He shot a questioning look at the green changeling, but Beast Boy just shrugged, choosing to feign ignorance.

Jinx helped Starfire and Robin clean up the many containers when they were done, as an unspoken 'thank you.' Beast Boy stepped toward them to help, but was stopped short as Cyborg stepped in front of him.

"Got a minute?" he bluntly asked.

"Uh, sure," Beast Boy answered. He noticed Starfire pull Jinx away – the word 'makeover; being mentioned – and they both looked at each other pleadingly.

Cyborg steered his shorter friend toward his room, shut the door behind them and leaned against it. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Eventually the silence was too much for Beast Boy, though, and he said, "So, uh, how about them Bears?"

"What are you thinking, man?!" his friend half-shouted. "She's….she's _Jinx_!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Beast Boy shouted back. "It just happened! She's different now, and I kinda like her."

"You can't trust her. She was HIVE once."

"So were you. And I didn't see you shutting her out when she got here today."

He frowned and stomped over to his workbench, starting to vigorously tackle some small project that was already laid out there. Frustrated, Beast Boy followed him and planted both hands on the table, one on either side of his tools.

"Come on! You wouldn't be acting this way if you didn't still have feelings for her!"

"I do not!"

"Oh really?"

The mechanic slammed down his wrench and the cogs he had just picked up. "No I don't! It's just hard seeing her with someone else when the person I_ really_ want is unreachable!"

He blanched. "Uh, dude, I'm not gay."

Cyborg groaned. "Not _you_! Sarasim!"

The green man sighed with relief. "Oh, right!"

He rubbed the back of his head, looking wistfully away. "Jinx was my first girlfriend, BB, but Sarasim was my first…you know."

Beast Boy stared at him, clearly thinking hard. After a moment he said, "Okay, I have to. How did you do that without –"

His friend reached over without looking and clamped one metal hand over his mouth. "That's not what I meant. I mean, I loved her."

"Oh."

"But don't tell anyone. Star'll make a big deal out of it."

He mimed zipping his mouth shut. Cyborg went back to work, and he just watched for a moment, but quickly got bored.

"Soooo, does this mean you won't kill me if I date Jinx?"

The large man sighed. "It's cool. Just don't expect me to be thrilled about it at first."

"Great!" He bounded over to the door, then stopped and looked back. "Beat you a Ninjas vs. Zombies later?"

"You can try," he grinned.

Beast Boy grinned back and quickly transformed into a fly, swooping through the crack under the door. Cyborg rolled his eyes and shook his head, but kept smiling.

"Show off."

* * *

Jinx emerged from Starfire's room a couple hours later, looking surprisingly like herself and wearing a devious smirk on her face. She turned toward the kitchen for a victory snack, but stopped short as she noticed a familiar green dog sitting just outside the door. He had a bouquet of black roses in his mouth, and started wagging his tail as she approached.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him, still smiling. "What's this about?"

He transformed back into his usual shape, holding the flowers out to her. "I figured these were more your style than red."

She took them and inhaled the scent. "They are now. Thanks."

He grinned. "Hey, you look normal!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied. "I see Cyborg didn't kill you, or beat up your game character."

"Nope." He reached out and took her hand in his, confidently but still with hesitation. She laughed and gave it a squeeze. Assured by that, he asked, "So, um, would you like to go….that is, somewhere, with me? Tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I would," she answered, charmed by his nervousness. He fought to refrain from doing a happy dance right there in front of her.

"Great!" he said instead.

She tucked the bouquet under one arm and resumed her journey to the kitchen, still holding his hand and thus tugging him along. "You hungry?"

"I'm always hungry."

She laughed again. "Okay, me too. I think there are some leftovers in the fridge, if no one else has gotten to them yet."

"Actually, how about I cook you something? I'm a tofu wizard."

Looking surprised and touched, she nodded her head. "Okay, sure. I've never had that before."

He face-faulted. "Seriously?"

She shook her head.

They arrived in the kitchen, and he let go of her to set about collecting the right ingredients and pans. "Then I will fix that and introduce you to a whole new world, my friend."

"Sounds awesome," she chuckled, watching with amusement as he somehow pulled a chef's hat out of nowhere, spun it onto his head, and began cooking with flair.

Time passed, and finally he set a plate of fried tofu, steamed brown rice and peas in front of her. "Bon appetit!"

"This looks great," she said, digging in as he joined her and began inhaling his own portion. "Oh wow, and its delicious."

"Told you!" he replied. Then quiet reigned as they focused on enjoying the meal, making a little small talk between bites.

"By the way," Beast Boy asked eventually, "how did you escape un-Star-ified?" I heard the word 'makeover' and worried for you."

She grinned. "Oh, I just convinced her to let me give _her_ a makeover instead."

He nearly choked on his food. "Really?"

"Yup. She's all goth'd out now. Robin is going to have kittens."

Beast Boy burst out laughing, and Jinx joined him. After a few minutes, when they had both calmed down, he toasted her with his glass.

"Sounds awesome," he said, and she had to agree.


End file.
